guernica (early version)/tango zebra reprise
volume 2 number 9
following my first two attempts at "pop" music lone rhino and twang bar king, I felt the urge to move in an entirely different direction. orchestral music done with guitar. neither record had shown evidence of burning up any pop charts, and even the mighty krimson was cracking at the seams and would burst apart during the birthing process of my third solo record desire caught by the tail. so, for nearly a year and a half most days I would get on my bike, ride over to the nearby closet-sized studio, and do my best to create "art". I had the crazy idea it would be embraced by the kind of people who bought krimson records.
it wasn't.
one irate fan actually broke the vinyl record into little pieces and sent it back to me!
my earliest concept for desire included the "double drumming" heard here. (I was a decade ahead of myself). experimenting with the Roland GR-700 guitar synth I discovered a way to plug it in improperly which would cause the darn thing to literally play itself. the resulting chaotic sound became the basis for a piece about Picasso's anti-war mural guernica. this is an early version before the final elements were added.
when I wasn't closeted in the studio with my cohort rich denhart I was at home experimenting with textures and creating new synth sounds to orchestrate with. often this meant recording on a little four-track I had to see how various parts sounded together and what was needed further. this version of the reprise of tango zebra was recorded in my dining room.
guernica:
guitar synthesizer, drums: adrian
engineer: rich denhart
recorded at Creative Audio, Urbana, Il.
sometime in 1984
length: 2:03
tango zebra reprise:
guitar synthesizer, bass, log drum: adrian
recorded by adrian at home in Urbana, Il.
on Dec. 11, 1984
length: 1:54
Any pictures of the art that was born from the broken record pieces? You did create art, right?
ReplyDeletewould you know if said improper plugging-in would be possible with the gr-1? i do love those chaotic sounds...
ReplyDeleteDesire has long been one of my favorite of your albums. It does seem to elicit strong reactions in people, though. I played Guernica for a friend once and he asked me never to play him the song again! Some art is too much for some folks I guess. I am sorry to hear about the broken record...
ReplyDeletei guess it is hard to say what people will buy!
ReplyDeletedcbtt is one of the very first compact discs i ever bought. it still finds its way into my player at those times when i'm in the mood for art that causes others to break vinyl platters into little pieces.
i truly enjoy the creativity your efforts delivered.
it may be a far-cry from commercial, but i've never bought a record/tape/cd/download because of its commercial viability.
keep shaking the world like it's a child's snowglobe and i'll keep floating through it like glitter cascading among the other fragments of glitter you have tossed about!
thank you!
at the risk of repeating myself , this has always been a favorite of mine , if you dont already own it , you must get this album . i absolutely adore every track . forget the fact that it is instrumental music and put it on every day for three days in a row and it will hit you like a freight train ! i still cant beleive no one ever used this for a soundtrack . imo that peice is still way ahead of its time . hats off to adrian !!!!
ReplyDelete"...and do my best to create "art". I had the crazy idea it would be embraced by the kind of people who bought krimson records.
ReplyDeleteit wasn't."
Adrian, that is your BEST solo work to date IMHO! It's only flaw was it wasn't longer!
Keep up the good work. Peace.
It WAS embraced by this person who buys Krimson albums. I had to buy the CD when my cassette copy wore out :^)
ReplyDeleteI bought 'desire' on vinyl soon after its release, and as a big fan of lone rhino and twang bar, it threw me at first...but then I found myself fascinated by it...good bedroom record...great for falling to sleep to...or not...falling asleep to....;)
ReplyDeleteAdrian,
ReplyDeleteEcho to all the positives. desire was probably one of my first cd's and it is firmly embedded in my rotation even after listening to it for nearly 20 years. I love the wordless music (Level Five is currently my favorite song)! Aside from the unique musicality, the laughing clown is classic, as are R2D2 and sly stallone homages. Humor does belong in music!
More music!
viva la Guernica!
Adrian,
ReplyDeleteThanks for having the courage to continue making amazing art and being true to yourself. You are an inspiration to many, many people.
P.S. You signed my shirt sleeve last night. I'll never wash it again! It's going up on my wall. Your band is too much!!!!!
Lily
Thanx so much for filling my world with crazy love music sound noise for all these years!!!!! Seeing you in Phoenix was too much-enjoy the puppet and our CDs.
Carlos